The New York Mets (35-28) swept the Baltimore Orioles (17-46)  by the final score of 11-4. This is the Mets first road sweep of the season, the Mets fourth win in a row and they are now seven games over .500. With the Phillies and Braves winning their game today the Mets remain 1.5 games back of the first place Braves and two game ahead of the third place Phillies. Mike Pelfrey started for the Mets and didn't have his best stuff, but was able to get the win, his ninth of the year, but his ERA jumped from 2.23 to 2.39. He didn't have his best stuff, but he had a big lead to work with. David Wright hit two home runs, his 11th and 12th of the year. Jason Bay, his fourth, and Chris Carter, his second, also hit home runs in this afternoon's game.

To start the game Jose Reyes singled and then with one out Wright hit a two-run home run to left field. Ike Davis then singled, Bay walked, and then Carter crushed a three-run home run to left-center field to give the Mets a 5-0 lead. Jesus Feliciano and Alex Cora would hit back-to-back singles but Henry Blanco grounded into a double play to end the inning. For the inning the Mets score five runs on six hits, platting five of the first six batters to come to the plate.

The Orioles got back-to-back single off of Corey Patterson and Miguel Tejada to start the inning. Luke Scott hit a sacrifice fly to score Patterson and Adam Jones hit a single to score Tejada to make it a 5-2 game.

The Orioles pulled closer in the second inning, when Tejada hit a sacrifice fly to score Scott Moore from third, to make it a 5-3 Mets lead.

The Mets got the run back in the top of the third when Bay led off the inning with a single. He moved to second on a Feliciano ground out, and came around to score on a two out single by Cora to make it a 6-3 game.

In the of the fifth Bay hit a solo home run, his fourth of the year to make it a 7-3 game.

The Mets put the game away in the sixth inning and it started with a one out single by Blanco. Reyes then had a bunt single, and on an error by the pitcher, Blanco moved to third. Pagan then grounded into a fielder choice, and Blanco came into to score to make it a 8-3 game. Wright then came up and blasted another two-run home run to make it a 10-3 Mets lead.

In the top of the seventh the Mets added another run. Bay led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a single from Feliciano. Cora then hit a sacrifice fly to score Bay to push the Mets lead to 11-3.

The Orioles added another run in the top of the seventh when with two outs, Scott singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Jones then singled to score Scott from second to make it an 11-4 Mets lead.

In the ninth Raul Valdes came in to pitch. Tejada reach on an error by Reyes, but Valdes got the next three batter to end to game and give the Mets a 11-4 victory.

To view the full box score, click here. To discuss the game in our forum, click here.

Hitting:

Pitching:

MVP:

• Not much debate here… today it goes to David Wright for going three for five with two home runs, and four RBI.

Next Game:

• The Mets will start a three game series with the Cleveland Indians with Johan Santana (4-3 2.96 ERA) taking the hill against Justin Masterson (2-5 4.74 ERA). Game time is set for 7:05 PM and the game will be aired on SNY.

The road trip for the New York Mets (33-28) got off to a good start as they defeated the Baltimore Orioles (17-44) by a final score of 5-1. This win is only their ninth game on the road this season. R.A. Dickey pitched well again, and he earned his fourth win of the year. He becomes the fourth Met to win his first five starts in Mets' history. The Orioles had plenty of chances to score, including loading the bases with no one out in the fourth inning, but couldn't come though in those situations.

The Mets struck first when Jose Reyes led off the game with a double. He would come around to score on a single by David Wright to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the fourth the Mets would crack the game open. Ike Davis had a one out single and Jason Bay followed with a walk. Chris Carter then belted a three-run home run to right field to push up the Mets lead to 4-0.

In the bottom of the seventh Matt Wieters led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a ground out. Corey Patterson then singled to center and Wieters was held at third. Dickey then throw a wild pitch and Wieters came in to score to make it a 4-1 game.

The Mets got the run right back in the top of the eighth when Angle Pagan singled to start the inning. The next batter was Wright, who doubled into the gap in right-center, scoring Pagan from first to make it a 5-1 game.

Francisco Rodriguez came in the ninth, allowed a two double to Patterson, but struck out the side to give the Mets a 5-1 victory.

To view the full box score, click here. To discuss the game in our forum, click here.

W: Dickey (4-0)   L: Guthrie (3-7)

Hitting:

• The Mets got out hit by the Orioles, but they weren't able to get the clutch hits. They went 3 for 17 with RISP and left 10 men on base.
  
• The Mets just went 2 for 11 with RISP and left six men on base.
• Chris Carter hit his first career home run, a three-run shot in the fourth inning.
• David Wright drove in two RBI, giving him 42 on the season, which is fifth most in the NL. He also went 3-4, pushing his average up to .284.
• Jose Reyes stole a base in the ninth inning, his 16th of the year, second most in the NL.
  

Pitching:

• R.A. Dickey's knuckle ball was dancing all over the place, but most of them were strikes. Of the 109 pitches he threw, 75 of them were strikes.
• His ERA drops from 3.20 to 2.78. The Mets now have three pitchers in their rotation who have a sub-three ERA.
• Pedro Feliciano did not pitch well, giving up three hits in his inning of work. The Orioles grounded into a double play, but even after that the Orioles followed with a double and a single, but Wieters struck out to end the inning.
  
• Francisco Rodriguez had great stuff, striking out the side. He did allowed a double, but I really wasn't concerned they were going to score. One, because the Orioles are terrible, and two, Frankie's stuff was just great.
  

MVP:

• Got to give it to R.A. Dickey for seven innings of great work. He may have allowed some base runners, but every time there was a threat he was able to buckle down and get out of it.
  

Next Game:

• The Mets will go for the series win tomorrow, which would be their first road series win of the season. Hisanori Takahashi will take the mound for the Mets, looking to rebound after to rough starts in a row. The Orioles will counter with Brian Matusz who hasn't gotten a win since April 18th. Game time is set for 7:05 PM and will be aired on SNY.

New York Mets (32-28) @ Baltimore Orioles (17-43)
	Camden Yards

Scouting Report:

METS: Once again, Dickey ran into trouble early in his last start against the Marlins, but settled into another solid outing. After giving up three runs and six hits through the first three innings, he blanked Florida for another 3 1/3 innings in which he allowed just one hit. The knuckleballer has been extremely effective in his four starts since being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, as well as durable, lasting at least six innings in each of his starts.

ORIOLES: Where would the Orioles be without Guthrie? The 31-year-old righty has been the Birds' best starter this season, with nine quality starts in 12 outings and a 3.71 ERA. His last impressive performance — 7 1/3 innings, two earned, five hits, four strikeouts — was wasted in an 8-2 rout against Boston. Guthrie has faced the Mets once in his career, on June 16, 2009, in Camden Yards. In that outing he went 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out four.

Scouting Report:

METS: After promptly submitting two stellar starts upon joining the rotation, Takahashi has now endured two consecutive poor ones. The latest of those came at the hands of the Marlins, who hit two homers and scored five runs off him in 5 1/3 innings last Sunday at Citi Field. To remain in the rotation, Takahashi will have to do better against the Orioles, a team he has never faced. And perhaps that, more than anything, will work to the advantage of Takahashi, who relies heavily on off-speed pitches and deception.

ORIOLES: After a couple of rocky outings, Matusz has strung together two straight good games for the Orioles. He threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Yankees, then came back in his last outing against Boston and tossed 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out seven. The 117 pitches he threw against the Red Sox was a career high. Matusz looks to make it three straight stellar starts against the Mets, a team he has never faced.

Scouting Report:

METS: To throw nine innings of one-run ball last Tuesday against the Padres, Pelfrey needed merely 103 pitches. He struck out six, walked none and reduced his ERA to 2.23, its lowest point since April. The only blemish on Pelfrey's night was the fact that the Mets scored just one run behind him, giving him a no-decision. He will look to improve the end result Sunday against the Orioles, a team he faced — and beat — for the first time last season.

ORIOLES: TBA

Team Leaders

Mets Injury Report

———

Orioles Injury Report